Are You Stuck? Introduce a Pattern Interrupt

At some point during a weightlifting routine, your gains plateau. This happens when you follow the same routine for eight weeks, for example. You may notice results at first, but as you hit the latter part of your cycle, you’ll notice the results have dropped off. Your muscles have grown and become stronger, and have been conditioned to the same exercises.

There’s only one thing to do now.

Bring in a pattern interrupt. Change the routine. Introduce a different exercise routine. You’ll be challenged, and your muscles will be forced to grow and strengthen—subsequently, forcing them to adapt again.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. —Albert Einstein

Are you in a rut? Bored at work? Are your relationships absent of passion?

Bring in a pattern interrupt.

Every aspect of your life will eventually hit a plateau. You need to incorporate change to keep things engaging. It doesn’t have to be a drastic change.

You don’t have to quit your job. You don’t have to go on a mission in Africa. Depending on your situation, maybe that’s exactly what you need to do. It can be as small as taking on a new project at work. Or turning off your phone for the weekend. Or rock climbing instead of weightlifting.

We all get in ruts. Shit gets stale. I could use a pattern interrupt. I’ve been doing the same things for the past six months. I’m on the verge of losing my shit, but I’ve realized that a small change in my habits will turn things around.

I’ve been in getting mode for the past six months. I keep trying to get something. Ultimate fulfillment isn’t a result of getting—it is a result of giving.

We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. —Mahatma Gandhi

It’s extremely advantageous to have habits in place. I strongly believe in the power of habit—and how good habits create a winning lifestyle.

That’s why people who work the same 9-5 job for 40 years feel like “the years went by so quick!” —James Altucher

If you’ve made it this far in the article, it’s because you feel like you’re missing something. You’re stuck. You’ve plateaued in a certain area in your life. Or maybe you’re just bored!

You’ve been doing things a certain way for years. It’s probably worked. It felt right to do. It got you your cushy job, your car, $2,000 couch, etc..

It felt right to do. Now it’s time to try some wrong (as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone).

On paper, it’s very simple, but bringing pattern interrupts to your daily habits is difficult. It’ll be hard to take the wheel when you’ve been on auto-pilot for so long. Everything we do is a result of a decision. Starting small with your daily decisions is a simple way to introduce a pattern interrupt.